Story Time On Deck Four
by MrFredCDobbs
Summary: A behind-the-scenes look at what happened in the downtime between missions in Mass Effect 2. A lost diary kept by Jack reveals the odd friendship she developed with another violent, maladjusted misfit. Rated M for language. Cover art by Choco-Minto.
1. Chapter 1

**Normandy SR-2 Inventory item #7456 E-427 – Datapad recovered 11-05-2185.**

**Entries on pad suggest previous owner was Jacqueline Nought AKA Jack AKA Subject Zero. Request for property transfer from Grissom Academy Director Kahlee Sanders on hold pending further review. Classified information redacted.**

**Unredacted entries:**

**Entry #01** \- Ok, so at some point these Cerberus lackeys are going to try to sell me to another prison, probably after we finish whatever this mission is. I figure they'll try to mindwipe me to cover up whatever they're doing. So I'm going to record everything I see and hear on this datapad and keep it stashed away. That way if they do get a drop on me I'll at least I'll have a record of what happened on board to remind myself with.

**Entry #02 **– Got a decent spot on the ship—underneath the engine room. Quiet but not too quiet. Can always hear the engines hum. Dark too. Only one way in or out. Nobody's gonna fucking sneak up on me without getting a bullet between the eyes. Two engineers working above me. Nerds. There's some geezer down the hall but he'd break a hip if he'd tried make a move at me. Also got a fucking krogan on this level but he just hangs around in the other cargo area. You can smell him about 100 yards away so no way he can sneak up on me either.

**Entry #03 **– Fucking unbelievable but Shepard actually gave me full access to the Cerberus files. Why? What's the fucking angle that's being used on me? Whatever it is, the data is in there. So much nasty dirt. Not just Pragia either. I'm downloading copies of the files and I'll post them all on the extranet as soon as I know Cerberus isn't watching me.

**Entry #07 **– Shepard keeps coming by. _"Just checking up on you."_ Yeah, right. Obviously just trying to get in my pants. Too uptight to straight up make a move though. When I suggested using the ship to go pirate, got this totally constipated look in response. Almost laughed at 'em.

Loser.

**Entry #09 **– That fucking krogan came by today. Just said he was bored. Told him to get the fuck out or else. Grinned and said he'd love to fight but he promised Shepard he wouldn't kill the other crew. Probably meant it. I gotta be careful. I can take most of the others on this ship but that overgrown turtle would make me work for it.

**Entry #10 **– Been down here days and only just now found a bug Cerberus had planted here. Goddammit. Hope you enjoyed the show bastards.

**Entry #11 **– The krogan showed up again. Out of nowhere starts talking about seeing me bust out of the cryo containment room on Purgatory. _"You were tearing everything up! It was great!"_ Says he tried to follow me but got side-tracked as things went apeshit on the station. Didn't realize that he and Shepard had killed Warden Kuril before they caught up with me. Good to know that that evil fucker got his.

**Entry #15 **– That fucking krogan is back. Asked me what I'd done to get into Purgatory in the first place. No secret, so I told him.

When I finish, he says, _"Tell me more."_

Told the scaly lump that was the story, that was it.

Looks at me and says, _"Got any others?"_

Other what? I ask.

_"Stories,"_ he says.

Finally left when I told him to get the fuck out.

**Entry #18 **– Just figured out that the krogan has a name – Grunt. That's it. Just Grunt. Why not _"Belch,"_ or _"Fart"?_ I asked. He says something about some other krogan he knew never having suggested those as names.

Unbelievable. Too stupid to even get a joke that obvious.

Anyway, Grunt stops by about once a day now. Just wants to hear my stories from when I was a pirate or on the run. I'm fucking bored too, so I tell 'em. There are worse ways to kill the time between missions. He's too dumb to be working an angle and the krogan aren't into human women, so I know he doesn't want anything more. Fairly sure, anyway…

**Entry #19 **\- Asked Grunt what he was getting out of the mission. Pointed out to the dummy that he's an alien and Cerberus hates aliens. What gives? He said he's loyal to Shepard only.

_"I follow my commander. I kill when I'm ordered to. Doesn't matter who."_

And if Shepard orders you to kill me?

He shrugs. _"Then you die,"_ he says.

At least I know where I stand. Only honest person on the ship.

**Entry #21 **\- Asked Grunt to tell me some of his stories for a change. He got quiet for a while, then said I already knew them all – All he had was the stuff he had done with Shepard.

Forgot that though he's full-grown he was only let out of that tank a little while ago.

_"I hope someday to be able to tell stories like you can,"_ he says.

**Entry #24 **– Grunt has stopped coming by. He's just staying in his part of the cargo bay now. I can hear him pace around, growl, headbutt the walls. What the fuck is wrong with him? Shepard came by and says we're taking a detour to his home planet to find a krogan witchdoctor or something. This had better work.

**Entry #25** \- Shepard got Grunt into some krogan gang or something or other on his home planet. Seems to have done the trick. He's back under control. Has started coming by again.**  
**

Gotta admit it's not bad. I tell him about capers I committed, stuff I stole, destroyed, people who got what was coming to them.

He never gives me shit about anything I did. He just sits there, nods, sometimes laughs. First person ever to just _listen_ to me. Goddam highlight of my day, in fact.

Fuck my life.

**Entry #29 **\- Grunt asked me why I was part of _"Clan Normandy."_ Took me a minute to realize he meant Shepard's crew. Told him I was doing it to get revenge on Cerberus.**  
**

Same people paying for the ship? He asks.

Yeah, dumbass, I tell him.

He nods, says, _"If Shepard okays it, I'll help."_

Pretty sure he meant it.

**Entry #33 **– Shepard found out that Grunt has been hanging around with me. The commander starts giving me shit about how Grunt was coming by for _"story time."_ Asks if I was tucking him in at night too.

Asshole.

Anyhow, says we're finally going to Pragia to turn that place into a crater. Took 'em fucking long enough.

Site's probably deserted but there's a lot of wild varren on the planet surface. Gonna ask Grunt to come along. Might need him as a meat shield in case things get hairy.

**Entry #34 **– Shoulda been simple. Just get to Pragia, plant the bomb in that fucking Cerberus facility and bug out. And then the universe steps in and says, _"Fuck you again, bitch. Nothing's ever easy for you. Why should this be any different?"_

First, Shepard finds all of these recordings that show things at the facility weren't exactly as I thought. They were torturing the other kids too. Then we find out that a bunch of krogan and vorcha mercs are there scavenging the place. I figure Shepard & I are dead 'cause Grunt's just gonna switch sides and join them. I mean, we're just humans. Those are his people, right?

He doesn't. The grinning idiot sticks by us when the mercs make their move, even charges a krogan who tries to flank us. Doesn't make a big deal out of it afterwards either.

Then we find out that the mercs were working for a human biotic who had been at the facility back when I was there. He has some fucked up idea about getting it up and running again. Almost capped him but Shepard makes me realize he isn't worth it. We finally plant the bomb and head out.

I'm still turning all of this shit over in my head as we fly out. Without really thinking about I hit the detonator before we're clear of the blastzone. Shepard sees this and pounds the cockpit door to tell the shuttle pilot to speed up. We get clear – barely. The commander chews me out for the rest of the trip.

Grunt just laughs and says, _"Let's do it again!"_

**Entry #36 **– Whole ground team goes off to do planning exercises for the Omega Four Relay mission and the fucking collectors decide to show up and take everybody while we're away. Got everyone but the pilot. Asshole's jokes are so bad even the collectors won't take him I guess.

Never seen Shepard this angry. Says we're doing the mission into the relay in two hours. _"The collectors are about to find out what happens when you piss me off!"_

Got just enough time to check weapons, gear and the rest.

Gonna go make sure Grunt's shotgun is cleaned and working. I don't think he does it right 'cause he's only got three thick fingers on each hand. Need to make sure that that grinning idiot makes it back ok.


	2. Chapter 2

**Entry #37** – Shepard's called everyone into the conference room in 10 minutes to map out the plan of attack on the collector base. Got just enough time to jot this down while its fresh in my head.

Everyone knows this could be it. Every face is serious and grim as can be.

Except Grunt's.

He never stops smiling. He's not just happy. He's fucking gleeful. He has the energy of a kid who just wolfed down a whole box of candy. He can't stop bobbing up & down and smacking his hands together. It's like it's his birthday, Christmas and Krogan New Year's all-wrapped up in one. He can't wait to take on the collectors.

I arrive in the conference room early and Grunt is already there, talking shop with the geezer merc. Grunt sees me and says, "_Ha-ha! Finally! After all this time! It's happening! Isn't it great?_!"

I guess he expects a "_Hoo-rah!_" or something like that from me. I'm ready to fight, yeah, but I'm not in a celebrating mood. "_We could all be dead in an hour, you know,_" I tell him.

"_Yeah, we may not make the trip back,_" Grunt replies. "_This important thing is we made the trip to get here! 13 of us against, what, 10,000 collectors? 100,000? A million? I'll finally have great story to tell!_"

"_We're on the other side of the Omega Four Relay. It's just the collectors and us. No one else is watching. What fucking glory is there if no one knows what happened?_" I tell him.

Well, I guess Grunt hadn't thought of that. He gets quiet for a few seconds, then says, "_Be my krantt and speak of me before Clan Urdnot._"

I have no fucking clue what he's talking about. Grunt tries to explain but can't. He keeps repeating he wants me to be his "_krantt_" but assumes I know what that means. After about a minute or two of this the geezer waves me over and drops his voice low enough so Grunt can't hear us.

"_Missy, do us all a favor, wouldja? Just say 'yes' to goddam krogan. It's obviously important to him._"

No fucking way I'm saying "_yes_" when I don't what I'm saying yes to, I tell the old fart.

"_A'right, look: He's not asking you to marry him, ok? Krantt means bein' a krogan's brother-in-arms, except it's a bit more'n that. A krantt doesn't just fight for his buddy's life, he fights for his honor, his place in the clan. What that means is speakin' n' actin' on his behalf if he ain't around to do himself. In this case, what Grunt is askin' you to do is to tell his clan what happened to him if he doesn't make it back so they can write battle songs about him and shit like that."_

Why me and not Shepard? I ask.

"_Shepard's his krantt too. You can have more'n one, you know. Grunt's just coverin' his bets, you see? Just put his fuckin' mind at ease. We need that bloody krogan at his best for the insanity we're about to try. And if he does die, well, it's not like he's gonna know if you break your promise. Unless you believe in ghosts, that is._"

It still didn't make sense to me. Would a bunch of krogan thugs even listen to a human woman? I ask.

"_Ordinarily, yeah, that might be an issue. Not in Grunt's case. His clan leader used to serve under Shepard. Real tight, those two. How'd you think the commander got Grunt into the clan to start with? For most krogan, a tankbred is less than a vorcha,"_ the old fart says._ "And once he was in the clan, Grunt bragged about you to the others. So if a human biotic with tattoos all over her body says 'I was on the Normandy and here's how Grunt cashed it in,' they'll listen._"

At this point I have to tell the geezer to back up. Grunt bragged about me? You're shitting me, right?

"_Yeah, he did. Talked about seeing you tear up Purgatory and said you were proof that humans could get blood rage too. The other krogan said that was impossible and he tells 'em bullshit, he's seen it himself,_" he says.

So I think, ok, fine, if it helps. I tell Grunt I'll be his krantt. His eyes light up.

"_Good! I'll cover you and make sure you get back from the mission!_" he says.

"_I have better idea,_" I tell him. "_We cover each other and both make it back._"

Grunt thinks about this for a second and says, "_That works too!_"

Ok, Shepard's here and we're about to get the mission brief. Gotta stash this thing.

**Entry #38** \- Holy fucking shit. We did it.

We did the mission and made it back.

We won. No, scratch that: We fucking crushed.

We made it through the relay, took down the collectors' ship, found their base, kicked in the door, cut a path inside, rescued the rest of the crew, set the reactors to overload and got the fuck out just before the whole goddam thing went ka-boom, taking all of the collectors with it.

I've done a lot of hardcore shit but this is the first time I ever helped make a whole fucking species go extinct.

Good riddance, fuckers.

And we didn't lose a single person. Not one.

Goddam.

Wouldn't have made it without Grunt. After we found the rest of the crew, Shepard says we still have to go further into the base to find the reactors. One path has so many of the tiny collector bugs that the salarian's fix won't work. The asari nun suggests a biotic barrier. Good idea, says Shepard, but instead of having the nun do it, Shepard says I'm up.

The commander can read the hesitation on my face and is about to change plans when Grunt speaks up: "_I'll make sure nothing gets through to her_." Shepard nods, tells the salarian he's up too and leaves the butt-ugly turian in charge of the rest of the team.

It was the toughest thing I've ever fucking done. Holding up a biotic barrier large enough for four and moving is like wading through waist-deep mud while balancing a 100 lbs weight above your head and getting continually punched hard in the stomach. I can't let my concentration slip for even a second or one of those little bugs will get through and we're all fucking goners. The collectors know I'm the weak point and so they keep charging at me. Shepard and the salarian blast the ones outside the bubble. Grunt shotguns any bastard that makes it past them.

At one point, a collector slips through before Grunt can reload and gets within a few feet of me. Grunt grabs it and headbutts it so hard that it's skull caves in and you can actually see the impression of the krogan's face in there. He does this while shouting, "_I! Am! Krogan!_"

And all I can think is, "_Goddammit, motherfucker, don't you dare make me laugh right now…_"

After what feels like 10 miles we reach the end of pathway and just have to seal off the doors to block off the swarms. My legs are wobbling. My lungs are burning. My head is spinning. Out of the corner of my eye I see that the collectors have regrouped and are charging again. Grunt is holding up the rear and about to be overrun.

And this just pisses me off. I didn't drag his ass this far to lose that dumbass krogan now. No. Fucking. Way.

I turn and send all of the bubble's energy out as a shockwave. All of those fuckers are knocked back on their bug asses. It's just enough of a pause for Grunt to be able to dash back and let Shepard seal the door.

I want to puke but I don't have anything in my stomach. So I'm just dry-heaving. As I'm doubled over and panting for air, Grunt comes up to me and snorts loudly. "_Ha! I knew I was right! Humans CAN get blood rage!_"

He grins and helps me up. "_Felt good, didn't it?_"

"_Yeah,_" I say. "_It sure did_."

**Entry #39** \- Back on the ship now. Grunt insists we celebrate with shots of ryncol. Never had that krogan liquor before and I'm feeling pretty indestructible, so I say, "_Fuck yeah! Let's kick this shit up!_"

Well, now I know what it's like to drink a glass full of white-hot razorblades. Five minutes later, Grunt is helping me up to the salarian's lab to see if he has something that can keep this shit from eating the rest of the way through my guts.

The salarian is busy giving everyone who was kidnapped a quick check-up to make sure they're ok and don't have any reaper tech jammed up their asses or shit like that. The quarian is helping him out with the scans. He's finishing up with the airhead receptionist when we come in. She sees Grunt and starts to say something to him but the words don't come. Instead, she just throws her arms around him and starts sobbing uncontrollably. Just bawling her fucking eyes out.

Grunt is confused and shoots me a "_Hey, help me out here, would ya?_" look. I'm so sick, I can't talk. The salarian just puts his hand on his chin and watches, muttering "_Humans…_" under his breath. Finally, the quarian leans in to Grunt and whispers something to him. Grunt looks at the quarian, then down at the receptionist, who's still clinging to him and crying like a bitch. He pats her head and says, "_You're welcome._" Grunt then looks back at the quarian, who's nodding "_yes_" at him. A few minutes later the receptionist finally detaches herself, wipes the snot from her nose and leaves.

"_What the fuck was that about?_" I croak.

"_Don't you remember?_" the quarian says. "_Grunt was the one that broke open the collector tube she was in._"

**Entry #40** \- Just found out that this isn't a Cerberus ship anymore. Shepard told the Illusive Man to stick it where the sun don't shine. Just like that. We're officially pirates now. Just another bunch of people on a stolen ship floating around through the galaxy without a flag, starting trouble and causing shit. This place finally feels like home.

Told Shepard we should pull down all of the Cerberus insignia, replace 'em with skull and crossbones. Doesn't look like its gonna happen though.

Think I'm gonna go to the cheerleader's office and ask her how she plans to pay for all of her spa trips now that she doesn't have a paycheck anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Entry #45** \- Things are finally calming down here. Question is what the fuck do I do now? Suicide missions usually end one way. Didn't plan on actually living. And its hard to get back to normal when you never knew what normal was in the first place. I'm sticking around for now. But it's not gonna last. It can't.

_"What are you going to do with the rest of your life?"_ is never a question I asked myself before. I just assumed death was a few laps behind me and would catch up sooner or later. Maybe I was wrong.

I guess I'll go back to being a pirate. Thought before I might take this ship. That stealth drive would be killer - I'd never get caught. I don't think I can steal it now though. Shepard wouldn't go for it and just taking it would get ugly fast. And Grunt's still loyal to Shepard. Would hate to have to put the big guy down.

Grunt still comes by but I've run out regular stories to tell him. Lately, I've been explaining my tats to him one-by-one: What they are, why I got them and what they mean to me. Gone through the ones on my head & neck, my arms, and chest already. Working our way down my back now. In another week, I'm gonna have to start taking my pants off when he comes by.

**Entry #48** \- So Shepard just blew up a fucking mass relay and killed more than 300,000 batarians in the process.

It's like the commander is determined to make all the stuff I did look like petty crimes.

**Entry #50** \- It's official. Shepard is surrendering to the Alliance. The commander's gonna give everyone who wants to a chance to disembark on Illium or Omega before taking the ship to earth to get the cuffs slapped on.

Looks like most everyone is jumping ship. The Cerberus lackeys certainly don't want to stick around. Most of the alien crew are headed back to their home planets.

Grunt doesn't want to leave. Serving on the Normandy is the only thing he has ever known. He was literally born here. It's his home. He wants to stay by Shepard's side but the commander has told him it makes no sense for him to go to earth. Mostly likely the Alliance will just ship him off to Tuchanka anyway.

Been thinking I could use someone to watch my back. I'm gonna ask Grunt to go pirate with me.

**Entry #53** \- So Shepard says someone in the Alliance wants to talk to me and asks for an extranet address where they could reach me. I figure it'll be good for a laugh at least so I give one of the ones I use. The next day I get this:

_To: Bi8ticGoddezz_

_From: KSanders_

_Dear Ms. Nought,_

_My name is Kahlee Sanders and I am director here at Grissom Academy, an Alliance school for gifted students. I'd like you to join the academy's Ascension Project as an instructor for young biotics. We are in urgent need of humans with high-level biotic abilities and real-world combat experience to train our students, many of whom are recruited by the Navy. Past graduates of the project have often buckled under fire, sometimes with tragic results. In short, we need teachers who can show our students how to really fight._

_Alliance Intelligence has determined through records recovered at Pragia and Purgatory that you belong in the top 0.1% of humans with biotic abilities. While your criminal record does give significant pause, we are aware of your participation in Commander Shepard's mission to destroy the collector base and based on that we believe that, properly supervised, you could be an asset to the Ascension Project._

_We are prepared to offer you a full-time position at the academy as a combat instructor, including room & board. Should you accept, we can arrange a full and complete pardon for any crimes you may have committed in Alliance space._

_Please consider this offer and contact me at your earliest convenience._

_Best,_

_Kahlee Sanders_

It's a complete joke, of course. But something about it bugs me. I think about it for a while and then I remember: the Ascension Project was the place that the Cerberus scumbags at Pragia said they were going to try to infiltrate once I broke out and their own little torture palace went up in flames. Shepard said Ascension is legit, but what if some of the Cerberus people have wormed their way in there? There's no way I can allow them to get their hands on more biotic kids. I have to accept this offer so I can get inside and sniff them out. Once I do that, then I'll split. And, hey, I'll have a pardon too! Not bad.

Gonna have to tell Grunt going pirate is off, at least for now. Krogan live for a long time tho. Maybe he'll wait for me.

**Entry #54** \- Told Grunt about my plans for joining the Ascension Project and putting off going pirate for the time being. When I finish, he looks puzzled.

_"Why not just stay there?"_ he asks. _"It's training young warriors, right? You'd be great at that!"_

I laugh. You're not serious, I tell him.

Turns out he was. I should do it, he says. I laugh again. Could you seriously imagine me teaching kids and telling them what to do? Then he says something that I never expected.

_"Why not? You did it for me. This should be even easier. Humans are squishier than krogan,"_ he says.

What the fuck are you talking about? I ask. Turns out he meant all those times he came by to hear my stories. _"Shepard is my battlemaster but I learned a lot from you too. You told me about how to recognize an enemy, how to strike first and how to hit hard. You told me about your mistakes too, so I know what not to do. And we fought together so I got see all that in action,"_ Grunt says. _"Good lessons."_

_"You should share them,"_ he adds.

All this time I thought I was just entertaining him. But no. He was seriously listening to me and hanging on my every word. He was fucking taking mental notes.

Shit, maybe he *is* right. Maybe I can teach.

**Entry #57** \- We're at Tuchanka. Grunt is leaving to join his clan. I'm told the clan leader wants him to be part of a special commando group he's creating.

I help Grunt pack, which takes like three minutes since everything he owns fits into a single footlocker with space left over. He's anxious but not in the happy, eager way he usually is. He's quiet instead. Ok, dumbass, what's wrong? I ask.

_"I know what it's like to be a warrior. I've fought in great battles alongside the best, like you. But I only know being a krogan from what Okeer imprinted. I've never lived it. I've never felt the blood and the pain,"_ he said. _"On Tuchanka, I am a stranger. I have no krantt."_

I almost laugh. He's afraid of being picked on by the other guys! Well, the solution to that is simple enough, I tell him. _"If they start giving you shit, kick their asses! You're the biggest bad-ass in the galaxy. Show'em what that means! Do that a few times and they'll start listening."_

His old grin returns. _"Yeah, I should be looking forward to the fights. Heh-heh-heh..."_

He adds that he got a bunch of _"breeding requests"_ the last time he was on Tuchanka - This apparently is a thing for the krogan.

Of course I told him to go for it.

Before he goes he asks to write something on my data pad. So I hand it over. He puts an extranet address on it and leaves this message:

_Jakk,_

_Thanks to you I now have stories of my own to tell. Send me a message and I'll tell you the new ones I make here on Tuchanka. Teach your students well like me and I know you will make them proud and fierce._

_Grunt your Krantt_

Had to walk away so the scaly lump couldn't see me tear up.

-The End-

_[Special thanks to Lara Jayd for some helpful suggestions to the text.]_


End file.
